Editing Amusement park (section)

===Family-owned theme parks===
[[File:Calico train.JPG|thumb|Narrow-gauge mining train going through [[Calico Ghost Town]]]]
Some theme parks did evolve from more traditional amusement park enterprises, such as [[Knott's Berry Farm]]. In the 1920s, [[Walter Knott]] and his family sold berries from a roadside stand, which grew to include a restaurant serving fried chicken dinners. Within a few years, lines outside the restaurant were often several hours long. To entertain the waiting crowds, Walter Knott built a Ghost Town in 1940, using buildings relocated from real old west towns such as the [[Calico, California]], ghost town and [[Prescott, Arizona]]. In 1968, the Knott family fenced the farm, charged admission for the first time, and Knott's Berry Farm officially became a theme park.<ref name="Adams"/> Because of its long history, [[Knott's Berry Farm]] currently claims to be "America's First Theme Park." Knott's Berry Farm is now owned by Cedar Fair Entertainment Company. [[Lake Compounce]] in Bristol, Connecticut, may be the true oldest continuously operating amusement park in the United States, open since 1846. Santa Claus Town, which opened in [[Santa Claus, Indiana]], in 1935 and included [[Santa's Candy Castle]] and other Santa Claus-themed attractions is considered the first themed attraction in the United States: a precursor to the modern day theme park. Santa Claus Land (renamed [[Holiday World & Splashin' Safari|Holiday World]] in 1984) opened in 1946 in [[Santa Claus, Indiana]], and many people will argue that it was the first true Theme Park despite Knott's history.<ref name="Samuelson"/> In the 1950s the Herschend family took over operation of the tourist attraction, [[Marvel Cave]] near [[Branson, Missouri]]. Over the next decade they modernized the cave, which led to large numbers of people waiting to take the tour. The Herschend family opened a recreation of the old mining town that once existed atop Marvel Cave. The small village eventually became the theme park, [[Silver Dollar City]]. The park is still owned and operated by the Herschends and the family has several other parks including [[Dollywood]], [[Kentucky Kingdom]] and [[Wild Adventures]].